Colour Classification Analysis Based on MFCC Acoustic Feature Sets and Machine Learning Algorithms in Sound–Colour Synaesthesia

Sound–colour synaesthesia is a rare phenomenon in which auditory stimuli automatically evoke stable, subjectively real colour experiences. This study aimed to investigate whether the colours most frequently reported by a synesthete can be reliably predicted based on objective acoustic parameters of voice signals. The study analysed the responses of a 24-year-old blind woman to different voices, which she consciously associates with distinct coloured silhouettes. A classification analysis based on MFCC acoustic feature sets and machine learning algorithms (SVM, XGBoost) demonstrated that the models could be trained with very high Accuracy—up to 97–100% in binary classification and 89–90% in multi-class classification. These results provide new insights into how specific sound characteristics are linked to imagery arising from the human subconscious.

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Publication Details

Journal
Applied Sciences
Published
2025-11-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/app152212059
Primary Topic
Multisensory perception and integration
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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Colour Classification Analysis Based on MFCC Acoustic Feature Sets and Machine Learning Algorithms in Sound–Colour Synaesthesia

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Colour Classification Analysis Based on MFCC Acoustic Feature Sets and Machine Learning Algorithms in Sound–Colour Synaesthesia

Renaldas Raišutis, Aušra Saudargienė, Martynas Maciulevičius, Raminta Bartulienė, Saulius Šatkauskas, Gustavas Davidavičius, Diana Ragaišė
article en

Abstract

Sound–colour synaesthesia is a rare phenomenon in which auditory stimuli automatically evoke stable, subjectively real colour experiences. This study aimed to investigate whether the colours most frequently reported by a synesthete can be reliably predicted based on objective acoustic parameters of voice signals. The study analysed the responses of a 24-year-old blind woman to different voices, which she consciously associates with distinct coloured silhouettes. A classification analysis based on MFCC acoustic feature sets and machine learning algorithms (SVM, XGBoost) demonstrated that the models could be trained with very high Accuracy—up to 97–100% in binary classification and 89–90% in multi-class classification. These results provide new insights into how specific sound characteristics are linked to imagery arising from the human subconscious.

Applied SciencesVol. 15(22)
Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LT), Kaunas University of Technology (LT), Vytautas Magnus University (LT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 64%
Multisensory perception and integration
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